The Author

I 'm a 30 year old mom of two kids and married to a wonderful man.Living in a different country is hard for me,made merealize what i was missing from the smell of the bbq on the street to the shouts and laughter of the kids and teenagers playing tag in the moonlit night. The sweet noise of my mum calling or be it shouting my name.

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Friday, December 30, 2011

Winter is officially here and its making its presence known. The past few days were just perfect and wonderful. But yesterday and today is kinds of brutal. A day like today reminds you that its time to put on heavy coats, hats and mittens. I don't mind if its cold as long as its wasn't so windy out. When its windy outside, that is when I hate it! Not only does it bring bone chilling coldness but it also makes me worry about our pool cover. For the past years we have not been so lucky when it comes to our pool covers and got extra lucky when we didn't have to replace our pool filter. Its going to be interesting come opening season for next years summer. I just hope that our pool pump don't give up on us. If things don't go as planned at least I know a place like pentair pool pumps. The should have all sorts of pool pumps. I just pray that all will go as planned and that nothing breaks. Maintaining a pool is no easy feat. It takes time, money and effort.

I have been so busy!!! If only Thanksgiving wasn't so close to the Holidays I would have been fine. I feel like I haven't recovered from Thanksgiving and then its already Christmas and New Year is just a few days away. I did get a reprieve when we had Christmas day dinner at my BIL house. The only thing about holidays is that I hate cleaning up and the cooking. It just drains me. Sure, its very fulfilling to see your family enjoying your fruit of labor but not so when its time to clean up, lol.

My cousins and her family are here as well. She has two girls and they are just so adorable. I am glad though that they did come. We have been talking about anything and everything. She is homeschooling her kids and her kids are striving. We also talked about the things they plan to do in the spring time and summer. Since they enjoy camping that will be included in future activities. I could not believe that she camps with her kids. She then proceeded to tell me that camping is fun specially if you have the right mountain hardwear. The trick is to be organized and to have fun. I don't think I will ever go camping. Ralph has been talking about camping with the kids in our backyard in the Summer. Well, they can camp all they want! I am sleeping inside where no worms can get close to me, lol. I just want to stick to the kids playing in the backyard or either swimming. I will not say never but camping is so at the bottom of my list.

Saturday, December 24, 2011

A photo of our Christmas Tree this year. For the past years we have been using my MIL tree but since it was to big for the playroom I decided to put Ralph's tree instead. Before putting it up I did consult with my MIL so as not to offend her. She was okey with everything since and even helped me put up the Christmas Tree. I took half the time to put up the new tree than her old tree. It looked fuller and it fit perfectly. The kids also helped me put the ornaments on and put tinsels on the tree. It turned out beautiful! Next year I am planning on doing a color theme for the whole house. Maybe purple or white. Who knows, all I want is for my kids to enjoy and remember Christmas.

Wednesday, December 21, 2011

The last two days has been very cold. Frost covering the ground early in the morning. Autumn/Winter is not my favorite season as you can tell. For some winter is all they look forward to specially those that hunt in the winter time. Its this time of the season where they head on off to places where they can hunt. A high school friend of mine is married to a man who loves to hunt. She has been to a lot of hunt as well. I have even seen pictures of her wearing hunting gear. I forgot to ask her if they stay in a log cabin with beautiful hand crafted log beds and big toasty fireplace. My grandparents use to have a cabin in the mountain. We didn't have a log cabin, nor the log beds but we had a great time. It was one of the most memorable experiences I will cherish forever.

Tuesday, December 20, 2011

What a great Monday! My new friend Allison and I went to Target to score some great deals. Of course since I don't drive and she doesn't have a care my hubby played chauffeur for us, dropping and picking us up at the mall. It was the husbands day to babysit while the wives go on a bargain hunt,lol.

We first went to Target to check out what things we could get. While there we checked out the baby aisle for my friends 6 month old baby. We ooohed and ahhhed over the cute outfits. And of course talked about anything and everything from feeding, potty training, being pregnant, maternity dresses,breastfeeding to parenting. After Target we hit up the food court where my husband and Kaitlyn met with us for lunch. It wouldn't be a mall day without visiting some of the other stores like Victoria Secret and Forever XXl. We didn't purchase anything, just ended up looking. Our main goal was one thing Target. We went back in with a vengeance. We both went home with a few bags of great finds. Mine was under $12 which was great since we had a $20 deal limit. She went over since she had to purchase diapers for her baby. But, all in all we did great!!!

Wednesday, December 14, 2011

The weather has been crazy lately. One minutes its nice outside and the next its bone freezing cold. Winter and I are sworn enemies and will continue to be so. It's not even officially winter yet, here I am looking forward to warmer weather. A weather where I no longer have to bundle up and wear my granny coat which is down to my ankles. I must admit though, I am looking forward to the snow. Not a lot mind you but just enough for the kids to play. Winter is going to put a damper on my couponing. My walks to Walgreens will be very limited once its hits under 32. Oh well, I guess I will just have to content with looking at those great deals online and drooling over them, lol.

Thursday, December 8, 2011

Just this morning I was having a battle of my life. With what? With our downstairs hallway closet door. For some reason the sliding door won't cooperate on me. I hate and love sliding doors. No matter what I tried lifting the door and aligning the bearings it still wouldn't align properly. I was so close to loosing it and just tearing the door down, lol. Giving up was not a choice, had to think of another way. Finally I got a philips screw driver and just took the bearing out. I realigned it on top of the door and screwed it back it. Beaming with pride, I hopped off Kaitlyn's stool and almost did a dance. I was so proud of myself. Now that I know how to fix it by the end of this night I will have fixed the sliding door closet in our guest room.

Sunday, December 4, 2011

Last Thursday I finally went to see the newest installment of the twilight saga. My gal pal Krista went with me. It was my first girls night out, lol. I was so excited to finally go out and see the movie. I had heard raves from people who had seen it already. Before going to the movies we went on a little detour. Actually Krista had to stop at Fashion Bug to get her outfit for her work Christmas party. We were almost late going to the movies. The good thing about going to the movies on a weekday is that its slow. It was almost deserted that I was afraid they were closed. We got in before the actual movie started. Missing some of the previews of upcoming shows was no biggie.

The movie was good but I thought they dragged some of the scenes to long. My favorite part was of course the honeymoon. It was funny and romantic at the same time. There were scenes in the movie that was different from the book. All in all it was great, I loved it. I cannot wait for the the last installment which i heard will be this coming summer. To those who haven't seen the movie yet, go see it.

Friday, December 2, 2011

Did I ever write about my husband frustration about his Cellphone? A couple of weeks ago he called me and ranted about his Iphone4 not working right. The home button key was giving him such a headache. I told him that I could take it to the apple store to have it looked at and maybe fixed. He didn't want to do that, instead we headed off to the Mall on his next day off to look at other phones. He got the newest Samsung Skyrocket complete with Cell phone accessories. It had a bigger screen and was almost the same as his Iphone4. He was excited about his new cellphone. In less than a week he got more and more frustrated with his new phone. The battery life was just ridiculous that he threatened to throw it against a wall. I had to remind him that we can still return it and get a refund so he can choose another phone. He ended up with the new Iphone4s. He said he is sold on the Iphone more than ever. I can't wait until the newest Iphone6 comes out next year. Having a smartphone has not only kept me connected to my family but it has also helped with my newest addiction, couponing!

Thursday, December 1, 2011

Last week was not only full of good food and good laugh it was also full of good bargains. As a couponer I was excited for all the great deals that were out for people to grab. This year I wasn't so much into going to the malls. My sole purpose was to head on to our nearest Walgreens to score some serious deals. What made it more fun was I had my cousin to tag along with me. I taught her a few of the ropes and she picked up pretty quick. We had such a great time. My cousin was having a blast and so were her little girls. You wouldn't believe the screaming and the running around in our house the day of Thanksgiving and after.

We did go to the mall still since my cousin wanted to do some retail shopping specially with no sales tax in our state. We got to the mall afternoon of black friday. The Mall was still packed and people were still running around trying to catch good deals. I dread to think what it must have been like the morning the Mall opened up. There were more people out shopping this year than last. My cousin bought a couple things for her kids and I also got tempted. Yes, I to get tempted. With so many transaction going on It made me wonder. If the cast registry could say something they would probably call for a time out. With all the many transaction being dealt they better have a good receipt printer like the Epson TM-T88V. I am one of those people who is very anal about my receipt. For sure a whole bunch of people will be keeping track of their receipt just in case some of their purchases have to be returned. My cousin and I have already put our receipt in our wallet. I'll probably still have my receipt until next year,lol. This years Thanksgiving was amazing. Not only did a get to shop for the first time as a couponer but I also had the pleasure of sharing the experience with a fellow couponer who happens to be my cousin.

Sunday, November 27, 2011

I am so exhausted. My cousins family just left last night before 12 midnight. They were going to stay one more night but decided against it. Her husband wanted to be on the road so that they won't hit to much traffic. They had a long drive ahead of them going to Chicago. I hated seeing them go but in a way I gave a sigh of relief. Don't get me wrong, I didn't want to get rid of them but I wanted to rest, lol. The few days that they spent with us was great. My cousin and I had so much fun, we connected in a different way this time. I guess its because we are both mom and marred. We talked about a lot of things ranging from our kids, our husband, our childhood and most of all our couponing, lol. Yes, my cousin was ecstatic to find out I was already couponing. She is more of a newbie than me so I taught her some of the things I learn along the way. It was a great few days and I can't wait to have them here again. Now, I just need a few days to recharge my batteries. I don't feel like blogging at all. All I want to do is go to sleep for a week and not do any chores! How was your Thanksgiving?

Thursday, November 24, 2011

Happy Thanksgiving to all of us. Let us take this time to reflect. To say what we are thankful for. I am thankful for my family, and for all the hardship that we have surpassed. I thank my family for taking the time to come down and celebrate Thanksgiving with us. It means a lot to me.

Sunday, November 20, 2011

A few more to go and its going to be Thanksgiving. Its our turn this year to host the Thanksgiving dinner at our house. Its going to be a loooooooong few days for me. I have so much to do but with very little time. I won't be online much as I have to clean, organized, go food shopping and cook before Thanksgiving. This is going to be extra special for me this year. Why? My cousin and her family from Chicago are driving down. She is also picking up her parents and sister is New York. Its going to be a full house. My kids are already very excited to see their cousins. I feel so overwhelmed and stressed. I just want things to be perfect, but perfection is to much to ask, lol. I am really looking forward to having my side of the family again. The last time they were here was 3 years ago also for Thanksgiving. I just hope my family will have a great time!

Thursday, November 17, 2011

Its been literally days since I indulged in my latest addiction, couponing. What's great about couponing for me is I get to kill two birds with one stone. I am saving and I am also getting my exercise. How? I walk like 2o minutes going and coming home. The only thing that really sucks is when I see a great deal but the store is no longer a walking distance. I have to rely on my MIL or husband to drive me around, most likely my MIL. She is an angel and is literally my driver, takes me where I go. However, she hasn't taken me out as of late. Her glasses have been bothering her. As a retiree and depending on her social security she is on a tight budget. With that I was off in search for decent glasses at an affordable price. One that stood out is www.glasses.com where they work with renowned lens specialist, has competitive pricing and most importantly with a 24/7 customer service and free standard shipping. Now I haven't really ordered anything but I would not hesitate to recommend an online store when I see a 24/7 customer service.

I have checked it out and it seems to have an easy layout and system of browsing and ordering. They even have the virtual try me on. Where you can upload your photo and try on as many glasses as you want. That is a big deal. You can now see for yourself what you would look like. Check out the picture below, thats me trying on one of the glasses. I tried on the Paolo Visconti GLU05 with the matte brown frame for $49. Not only do they sell frames, they also have a varied selection of womens sunglasses which I think is great. I am actually on the lookout for a new pair of sunglasses specially with the winter months coming. Check them out and try the Virtual try-on to see which glasses is for you, I did!!

Wednesday, November 9, 2011

I have been neglecting and procrastinating on writing post on my blog. I have just been so busy as of late and almost all my time is spent couponing. Its almost like a full time job and I have to keep track of all the coupon online and print them out. If my printer could talk it would probably tell me to give it a breather,lol. Since I started couponing almost 2 months ago I have used over 500 sheets of paper and used so much ink.I have also clipped a whole bunch or coupons from news paper inserts and magazines. I never understood why those women who are on the Extreme Couponing show why they do this. Its the high and adrenaline rush that keeps you addicted. You feel your heart racing and pumping, your hands gets so cold and clammy when you see those numbers go higher and higher. You wonder how your are going to pay for it and start to get all nervous and scared. Then as you hand in your coupons you pray that you have a smooth transaction. The first beep of the coupon being scanned is like a tranquilizer. Calming you down little by little and then when you see that you have cut the cost to more than 50-90% , that is where you get a rush, an adrenaline rush like no other. It makes you smile from the inside.

Couponing is not as easy as it seems. It takes skills, concentration and keen eye for a good bargain for it to work. I am still a newbie and I do not claim to be good at it yet. But with trial and error and support from other couponeers I will become successful. In almost two months of couponing my stockpile has grown and will keep growing,lol.. Next time I will post a picture of my growing stockpile, lol

Friday, November 4, 2011

This post is for my Grandpa who died last July,2011. He was the rock in the family. A man who was not afraid of honest hard work. A man who dedicated his life taking care of his family. Lolo instilled good values in me. I miss him so much and until now, I still can't grasp the enormity that he is gone. I know he is with our creator but deep inside I have not fully accepted it. As we were driving into the development yesterday when all of a sudden I felt like crying. Missing him so much is painfully. Crying was my outlet when I found out about his death a few months ago. So much tears was shed for him but it wasn't enough. It will probably hit me hard when I go home and visit my grandparents house. The thought that he won't be eating with us, laughing with us and sharing stories with us. I miss you so much Lo, it hurts. But I know you are looking down on us. At least I have a lot of memories to remember you by. I will miss you forever!

Wednesday, November 2, 2011

Its November and the air smells like Christmas already. I can almost hear the sleigh bell from Santa's ride. Trick or treat went without a hitch. We had both girls this year they had a good time. They also got more candies this year than last. It was a colder than last year but that didn't stop my girls from knocking on doors and saying "trick or treat". We brought along flashlights so we can see the kids and light their way. Did you go trick or treat with your kids? I think going as a group is much better, its more fun and more eyes on the kids.

Sunday, October 30, 2011

Finally after a more than a week I got a call from my cousin apologizing for the cancelled family visit. She happened to call on Ralph and Kaitlyn's Birthday. What was funny about this call was she called me by accident. She was trying to get hold of someone else but dialed my number instead, lol. With her being so busy home schooling her two kids and running an online business I wonder which calling services she has. To my knowledge she has clients from Europe and other countries. And with her husband being computer savvy I am pretty confident she has the right calling services. I wonder how those things work. Is it the same as Skype? I haven't even figured out how to do conference call on our house phone. At least I finally figured out how to do conference call on my iPhone,lol.

Saturday, October 29, 2011

The weather in the past few weeks have been totally crazy. One minute we are still having Summer life weather and the next its raining cats and dogs or its freezing like a sun of a gun! I was hoping and wishing for a long winter but the day we closed our pool for this season was a big indication that the warm weather will not be sticking around for long. At least we got our pool covered and winterized without any incident, lol. The only thing that made covering and winterizing the pool hard was the safety pool fence around it. It kind of got in the way or putting the tarp on but we managed it and both Ralph and I gave a big sigh of relief! The kids were sad that they will no longer be swimming but they are looking forward to the winter months while I am most certainly not!!!!

Saturday, October 22, 2011

Today two important people shared not only a special relationship afforded by a father and daughter but they both share the same birthday. To this day I still can't believe that our youngest was born on her daddy's birthday. Both of them will never forget each others birthday. The only person missing in this photo is our oldest Kayla. She was at her moms for the weekend. It would have been extra special has she been there to celebrate with her dad and younger sister.

To my husband and daughter, Happy Birthday and I hope that Ralph had a good time even though he didn't get anything. Like I always say to him every year on his birthday and special holidays " Kaitlyn is my gift to you for the next 18 years!"..... And to my princess bruiser, I hope you had a blast on your special day!

Friday, October 21, 2011

I was right! My cousin and her family didn't show up. I am not upset or anything but I was hoping for a call from her to let me know if they were coming or not. Good thing I called my Aunt and was told that they did visit her in NY but they had a very tight schedule and had to leave. Oh well, there is always a next time. Now that October visit is out I wonder if a November visit would happen. Possibly on Thanksgiving? We haven't even decided yet where to have this years Thanksgiving. Will we be hosting this year or will it be at Angelo's house. I have got to ask who is hosting so plans can be made and I can do my Thanksgiving shopping properly. October is almost coming to an end and preparation need to be done. Will you be hosting this years Thanksgiving?

Monday, October 17, 2011

Have you ever had family relative say they will visit you on a certain month but don't show up? It's happening to me. Well,I should say it looks like it may happen to me. I still haven't heard anything from my cousin in Chicago about her supposed visit this week. According to her she will be coming down before Kaitlyn's birthday which also happens to be her god daughter. I guess half of me is sad and half is a little relieved. Don't take the relived part in a bad way. I love having family over, its just her two kids are allergic to many things including our dog. They have had a lot of allergy scare since her kids were born. Lucky for the kids their mom is a Registered Nurse she has also done her research and read a lot of site probably including food allergies austin. She is very well informed and very well prepared when coming to visit me. They bring their food for the kids as they have special diet. Her kids are great but I feel scared of having them here in my house. I don't want them to get sick. No matter how much I clean the dog hair will still be around and I can't very well get rid of our family dog nor keep him cooped up in the in-law suite. I had better call her tomorrow and find out what going on.

Sunday, October 16, 2011

Having kids makes for a very interesting, fun,frustrating and patience trying day. Its either a hit or miss days with the kids. You can have a great and fun day one minute and the next you have a screaming kid on your hands. I thought that being a stay at home mom is easy but its not. Being a stay at home mom is a full time job. I used to be embarrass about being a SAHM but now I am proud to say it.

One of the many things I enjoy doing with my youngest while her big sister is in school is taking a video or her. She enjoys dancing, singing and just doing normal things a 3 year old would do. So I am always ready to snap a picture or take a video. Kaitlyn tells me now to record a video of her. With her dad always busy working its important that I share milestones and activities with him via videos and pictures. Having a smartphone has its advantages since I can go online and upload videos on you tube and posting it on FB with just a touch of a finger. I have heard of youtube downloader but have not tried it yet. My phone is overrun with so many picture and photos. If the youtube downloader works like they say it does I would download it in a heart beat. Anyway, I must log off. My eyes are starting to give up on me and just wants to see the back of my eyelids. Goodnight peeps!!

Its Monday again tomorrow. The weekend is over. At least we got a visit from Ralph's brother Angelo. My girls were so excited to see their Aunt Debbie . She loves and dotes on the kids, spoils them rotten too. The kids and I also had a little adventure where we walked to the nearest Walmart in our area. It was about a 5-10 minute walk from our house. We had a great time talking and laughing. They didn't not mind the walk and surprisingly neither did my lover extremities. Walking and I have not been great friends for a few years. Just as of late I have been walking more and more going to another store which is about 5 minute walk from our house. I am going to keep walking to those stores until it gets to cold. Let me tell you this, walking did really good for my bum, just ask my grinning husband,lol

Friday, October 14, 2011

I am not an Internet or computer savvy person that my husband likes to think, lol. Sure I know my way around the Web but that's about it. When it comes to computer, I am totally lost. Just a last week I was in a tizzy trying to connect my laptop to our wireless printer. Why? I needed another computer to print out more coupons. It took me a couple of days of tinkering and searching online, even asked dear hubby to help me out but, no luck. No matter what I did I could not get the get to connect my laptop to my printer. One research said that if connecting it wirelessly won't work then I may need to have a computer network cable. After reading that I had asked myself what have a gotten myself into. Searched high and low in our house hoping that dear husband might have a computer network cable stashed somewhere. No suck luck. Then I read that I need to have the disc for the printer in order to have the software in my computer. Did a quick search of all our computer disk and I found it. After downloading the software, my printer was up and running in no time.

Sunday, October 9, 2011

Do you think we are getting over the recession? Its kind of hard to say with so many people still unemployed, people left homeless and jobless. Not to mention all the business that has been closing worldwide.. Recession is not only effecting big business but small businesses are in more danger. What is promising though is that there are still people who are willing to take a chance on the economy and help stimulate the economy. The problem though is getting unsecured business loans to start a business. Its not easy getting loans more so now with banks and big financial corporation. I am no expert in finances or with the economy but this is just my 5 cents worth on it, lol. If you have a great business idea and think it will succeed, I say go for it!!

Sitting here right now way past midnight. I am coming up blank on what to write. I have been side tracked with something lately and it has been keeping me occupied. You could say its my newest drug and like any junkie I can't seem to have enough, lol. What is it? I guess most of you are going to have to start guessing. I guess I really do have something to write. Just thinking about which blog should I put it on. Does that mean I have to many blogs???????? I guess so!!!

Friday, October 7, 2011

Fall is here yippee, not!! I am just one of the few million people who is not looking forward to the colder months. At least my girls are older this year and I don't really have to be outside with them physically. I almost have everything ready for winter. I got the area rug down in the playroom so the kids won't have to sit , lay down or play on a cold hardwood floor. The only problem is what if Sunny accident inside the house and do it in the playroom with the area rug in there? Believe me that it is not easy cleaning and keeping it smelling fresh. This is one of the most common problem of home owner who have carpeted home. So for those living in NC carpet cleaning holly springs nc is the solution to your carpet problem. Pretty soon I will have to vacuum wash the are rug to keep it clean and smelling fresh. With a dog in the house, it vital that my house doesn't smell like a dog when we come in.

Thursday, October 6, 2011

The much awaited sleepover in our room with the kids was a success! For almost 2 weeks now my girls have been sleeping on their own. Yes, my girls used to sleep with either my husband or me but, its mostly me with my husband working all the time. My goal was to help my girls transition to sleeping by themselves in their own room without me or husband laying down with them. I am so proud to say that my girls did it! It's not going to be easy but if we keep up with it, they will eventually get used to it.

As a way or rewarding them for being such big girls, I promised them a sleepover in our room with movie, popcorn and soda. They worked hard to it and tonight was a big success! We watched Rio and just had a great time together. You got to love and cherish this moment. Soon my girls won't even want to hang out with us, lol. Here is a quick shot of us before we started the movie. When is your family night?

Friday, September 30, 2011

Did you know that after surgery I didn't take the medication that was prescribed to me. Its safe to say that I was scared of taking any pain medication and getting addicted to them. Aside from that I wasn't sure about the side effects and how its was going to make me feel while on the pain medication. To top it off I was told my my MIL and husband not to take pain medication if I don't need it. You could say they were afraid of me getting addicted. My MIL have tried so many pain medication due to her RA and she does not want me to be dependent on any drugs. When I got my prescription they made sure it wasn't methadone. They said that Methadone is a highly addictive drug used for pain medication. I didn't really pay Ralph any mind until I took one of the pain medication I got. It was horrible! I felt so drugged up,confused and nauseaus. It took me almost the whole day to finally be back to myself. No wonder there are methadone detox rehab treatment center for those dependent on the drug. It can be something that a person can get addicted to, but not for me. I am pretty sure of that!

Monday, September 26, 2011

Summer has been officially over last Friday Sept.23, 2011. I felt like I was saying goodbye to the more relaxed me. Growing up in tropical country my body is used to warm-hot weather. My body is not build for Fall/Autumn and Winter. I have been in this country close to 5 years now but I am still not friends with the colder season. In fact, I am mostly miserable when it gets cold, lol. The thought about putting on more layers of clothes makes me depress. I had to take out all our winter that was in the basement and wash them and sorted them in the hallway closet. Will we be having a mild or brutal winter this season? With my luck we will probably have a cold cold winter with lots of snow. Don't get me wrong, I love snow but sometimes its too much. For certain my kids will be having a blast this winter season. With that said, I stocked up on cold and cough medication for the kids as well as for me. I have already set up an appointment for them to get their flu shots on Oct. Are you ready for the colder months ahead?

Wednesday, September 21, 2011

Tonight will finally be the night my favorite show comes on, CSI!!! If you are a CSI fan you already know that Laurence Fishburn will not be coming back. He is instead being replaced my Ted Danson. I really loves Laurence Fishburn who played Dr. Langston but he had to move on to better things. As for the newest addition to CSI, I will have to make my judgement after maybe a few more episode if I think his going to be a good addition to the CSI family. Not that that it matters what I think, lol. I can't wait to the newest episode tonight.

As for NCIS, I was not disappointed. They are still a great team with humor, action and full of thrill. I wanted to see more of Abby but all in all I loved the new show. I just fell bad for Tony and was afraid that he killed one of his team but it turned out that he didn't. I was also left on the edge of my seat with NCIS:LA. I thought for sure Hetty would die and the team will be left in shambles. I am just so glad to have my shows back!

Monday, September 19, 2011

I am so excited that I can barely contain myself. My favorite shows on CBS is coming back with a new season which I hope is better and more intriguing. The shows I am talking about is CSI, CSI : MIAMI, CSI : NY, NCIS, NCIS:LA, Criminla Minds and some of the new shows like the Gifted Man,Two Broke Girls. I don't know If I will like Person of Interest, I do love Jim Cavezel in Count of Monte Cristo. I am going to keep my mind open about liking new shows this season. As for other network I am also looking forward for the newest season of Body of Proof on ABC, Bones on Fox as well and Syfy's Being Human which will start sometime next January. I am going to be so happy looking forward to watching the newest season of my favorite shows because I know its going to be good and explosive!!!

Friday, September 16, 2011

I am finally back to normal and feeling quite good. So good in fact that I have neglected to write anything on my blog. Let me explain, after my surgery my house was in shambles. I couldn't take it anymore. As soon as I stopped bleeding I started cleaning the house , rearranging stuff and organizing the kids toys again and again. My MIL was so upset with me cleaning as she was afraid I was going to start bleeding all over again but I didn't. I have also been in a funk as of late. I can't discuss or write about it yet but one day I will. Maybe it will help me out and help out other women who are going through the same things as I am.

Tuesday, September 13, 2011

With time tick, tick ,ticking it was important for my husband to make sure that both our girls have life insurance as well as us. I really never thought about life insurance and the possibility of buying immediate annuities until Ralph discussed how important it was. When Ralph had his neck surgery he was very very worried. Afraid that in the even that something would happen to him he wants to make sure that we will be taken cared of. It used to rattle and scare me when Ralph and my MIL talk about life insurance. It was like they were talking about dying. That all changed when my youngest was born. I had to step up and really pay close attention and get involve in the discussion. For now, Ralph is happy with what we got but I'm sure he still has something up his sleeve. He will move heaven and earth to make sure things fall into place and he also wants to make sure he makes the right decision for our future.

Finally, TLC is canceled Kate plus 8. I really enjoyed watching it the first couple of years. As the the years went on and as Kate grew to be more and more addicted to the spotlight I lost interest. I used to admire her courage, her organization and how she was with the kids. However I always cringed every time I saw how dominating she was towards her husband. I feel so sorry for John and I think they are better off divorce. Kate loves her kids for sure but she also loves the limelight. She said that if she had to go back to nursing she would do it but it won't be something that she wants to do. Her reasons were that she will see her kids lesser than what she is doing now. I think Kate has gotten used to doing it easy. Sponsored vacations, trips, things and etc. People are now question what will happen to her kids. Her kids will survive but I know Kate will do just about anything to stay in the limelight. I just hope that her kids will stay grounded and healthy.

It has been e weeks since that start of the new school year 2011-2012. Things are kind of slowing down as I got both girls settled back into a routine. Since I am not baby sitting anymore, my day is spent trying to clean up the house and teaching Kaitlyn as well. We are very hopeful that this year Kayla will do excellent in her academic endeavor. She has already told us that she wants to get on the honor roll. We encouraged her to reach for that and told her to do her beast no matter what. Every 3 months their school has this student day where trophies and awards are given to special kids that work extra hard. It would be nice to see Kayla receive any award but we are not putting pressure on her. We just tell her not to give up and to keep trying no matter what happens. I can see the big improvement in my oldest and I know for a fact that is she keeps studying hard she can do and achieve whatever she wants. All she needs is encouragement, love and patience.

With everyone gearing up for school its safe to say that you can find amazing deals on laptops,desktop computers, school supplies and of course back to school clothes. We are still on the lucky end that we won't need a new laptop since our oldest is only in the third grade. However, I have been looking into buying a new laptop or netbook for my sister in the Philippines. They have a desktop computer and a very old laptop but my mom is currently travelling from two different cities to take care of her mother. She needs something to use so we can keep in touch. Hopefully I can save enough to get them a new laptop. As for other school supplies we can forgo it this year. I found a whole bunch of pencils, erasers, marker, notebook, and crayons to last us about 5 years. If my husband buys another pack of pencil, I am going to stab him with it, lol. But seriously I don't think we need to buy any school supplies for Kayla this year. As for back to school clothes, that is another story.

Friday, September 9, 2011

To all coffee drinkers I don't have to tell you what this is, lol. I am not a big coffee drinker. Even way back home, I wasn't really into drinking coffee, going to cafe. I do drink coffee but very very rarely. Since being here in the US for almost 5 years I have only had 2 cups of coffee and I didn't even finish it.

So what got into me when I asked my husband a few days ago to get me a Dunkin Donuts Iced Coffee? I just wanted to find out for myself what all the hype was about this kind of coffee. I like my coffee very sweet, I added about 1/2 a cup of sugar plus caramel syrup. It was so good that I didn't stopped moving from 8:30 in the morning until about 5 p.m. I kid you not, I was so buzzed I did a lot of things in the one. It was a good thing but it was also a bad one. I am still recovering from surgery and all the moving around and doing chores due to caffeine made me start bleeding heavily and I started cramping up again. My MIL couldn't believe her eyes when she saw me drinking the iced coffee. It was good and I am planning on getting more. And I didn't not have a hard time sleeping at all. I can tell that this will be one of my guilty pleasures. Whats yours?

Tuesday, September 6, 2011

With everything that has been going on I just wanted to say how thankful I am for everything. Its already a start of the new months and with that I have to think about the last birthday celebrants in our family. My husband and youngest are celebrating their birthday in October. They have the same birthday so we get to save on throwing a party for them, lol. Ralph knows that with the birth of Kaitlyn on his birthday he has forfeited his right to his birthday. It will be all about Kaitlyn. I didn't let him know that I have been thinking non stop about what to get him for his birthday. He is not really keen on getting anything or how expensive of a gift I will get for him. What he likes is the thought behind the gift that he will be receiving. With that in mind I just checked out facebook.com/PersonalCreations to see what goodies they have. I know my husband would appreciate any personalized gift. Now all I have to do is talk to the girls and get their opinion on what to get Daddy for his special day. Even though I told Ralph when I was in labor almost 4 years ago that Kaitlyn will be my gift to him for the next 18 years, I think he deserves to get something special for putting up with his girls, lol. So I will get him something to say we love him and appreciate all his hard work.

Sunday, September 4, 2011

I never did get the chance to write about the hurricane we just had. With me recovering from surgery still its hard to really sit down in front of the computer while my stomach area is still tender.

Hurricane Irene decided to hit the East Coast last August 27-28. I just has surgery a couple of days before that so Ralph did most of the running around buying emergency stuff that we may need like, water, batteries and just little snacks for the kids. For some reason I was not in pain, just a little sore inside and from my incision. I invited our friend Krista to stay with us and brave the storm at our house. The kids had fun playing with their respective Nintendo DS games and just basically left us adults by ourselves. I was worried about my husband, he had to work a 12 hour shift or longer depending on the orders from the Captain. I was so glad that Hurricane Irene didn't really hit us full on. We did get water in our basement about 3 inches. I was not really bothered about the flooding in the basement. I was more worried about the water reaching the outlet and the refrigerator, air conditioning unit and the hot water unit. Other than that I was not worried about the other stuff in the basement. Our sub-pump wasn't working. Even though it was just been a couple of days after my surgery I still had to do my part. Ralph got home after midnight and had to be up again at 7 a.m. With our sub-pump not working we decided to use the pool pump to get the water out and it worked.

We are just thankful that after all the weather reports Irene decided to slow down a bit. I am just glad its over and we are all safe. My heart goes out to all the family who have lost houses, properties and even loved ones.

Thursday, September 1, 2011

Its September already? Half the year is already over. We have officially stepped into the what we call BER months. When the calendar hits the BER month people in my country will start the countdown to Christmas and have Christmas songs blasting in the air specially in Malls.

For me, I don't particularly get happy when its after August. You know why? That only means the end of Summer and the beginning of Fall/Autumn season. And I for one am not a cold/winter person. My mind is going on overdrive thinking about how cold will it be this season. Hopefully it won't be as bad as I think it will.

Friday, August 26, 2011

It has to be said, Summer will be coming to an end pretty soon. The temperature is not as warm as it use to be. My kids are the best temperature gauge, they have been swimming less and less. When my kids complain about it, its those time that I wish we had a pool heat pumps to keep the water nice and warm for them. If we had it, my kids will be swimming all year long and so would I. When we opened our pool this season Ralph really did think about getting a pool heater just so the kids can swim right away in the pool and not get sick afterwards. Knowing my husband, its something we will eventually own in the long run. If it will help with the kids enjoyment of the pool he will most likely get it.

Tuesday, August 23, 2011

It started off as uneventful sunny afternoon. I was just going to sit outside with my girls as they ride their bikes. As I was helping Kaitlyn get out of the door I suddenly felt the house swaying. Was it the wind that did that or a big truck just pass by? I knew it was an earthquake but I didn't want to think it was, i had no reason to think it was. Ralph has never mentioned an earthquake in Delaware. Just to make sure it wasn't the wind I went it and still the house was swaying. I took a hold of my youngest in our archway and yelled for my oldest to come to us right away. I held my kids until it stopped. I was scared. I immediately ran to my MIL room to ask if she felt it and she did. I rushed my kids outside and my neighbor was out as well. It was an earthquake and it shook me to the core. Exactly 5 minutes after it happened Ralph and his colleague arrived at the house on the Police Motorcycle. They didn't feel anything. We tuned in to the news straight away and found out that it was a 5.8 magnitude with Virginia as the center of the quake. Buildings and stores were evacuated for fear of aftershock.

I never realized that the fear, anxiety and stress level goes up when you have kids. You think about your children's safety. As soon as it was over I stressed to my kids how important it was to find a safe place when there is an earthquake. I told Kayla if she is inside the house she is to grab her sister and go under the table until the quake stops and run outside with her and not come in until it was safe. I am all shook up but thankful that it didn't last that long and it wasn't that bad. The quake made me realize that mother nature is wide awake and she wants us to take notice.....

Thursday, August 18, 2011

What has been keeping me this past few days? Why I have been sucked into new shows. I am embarrass to say that I have been spending a lot of my free time in front of the television. I fear its it just going to get worse when my shows come back for the fall season. Its no wonder when we went to an electronic store I was drawn to the samsung lcd tvs that were lining one wall. They had my favorite show on and I couldn't help but stare and get entranced by how clear my shows were. Ralph joked about me wanting to buy a bigger t.v. for the kids room as that is where I sleep. He didn't have to worry about that, for some reason I don't really watch television going to sleep. I am the total opposite of my husband, he can't sleep without the television turned on. So It is probably him I should be worried about getting a bigger and better television.

Tuesday, August 16, 2011

If it was possible to get pregnant watching this men dance, I would be pregnant in an instance. This is how real men dance,with precision, strength and grace rolled into one. The men look good enough to eat but its the way they move to the beat and execute all the dance move with precision. That dance must be brutal on the thighs and legs. If I ever go to Hawaii I want to see the Annual Merrie Monarch Festival. Where women dance so gracefully like watching waves after waves. I am bewitched by all who participated. So I leave you to enjoy....

Tuesday, August 9, 2011

It really is frustrating and stressful to a lot of my female friends getting pregnant. Everybody seems to be getting pregnant except me. I was going through my closet last month when I came across a few of maternity dresses. When I go to the mall I miss looking at maternity outfits. I really miss being pregnant and really want to have another baby. Two of my paternal cousins are pregnant and just a month apart. The other one that is here in America looks so gorgeous that she can a model for any maternity clothing. I swear she looks so great that you would say to yourself that if you would look as good as her, you would want to be pregnant all the time. She looks so serene, graceful and glowing. I didn't look to bad when I was pregnant if I may say so myself. I thought I was at my peak when I was pregnant with my first born. I guess I'll have to see how I feel the next time I get pregnant, lol. Hopefully I will look as good as I did my first time.

Friday, August 5, 2011

People have different ways to unwind, relax and have fun. My form of relaxing and my time is window shopping. I love window shopping, it doesn't bother me that I see things that I like but can't buy it. It gives the opposite feeling, makes me think if I really want it or need it. Once in a while I do give in and buy things that is purely a want. The one store that we frequent is Walmart, I love it. If you ask my 3 1/2 year old daughter why we always go to Walmart she will answer you " because its cheap!". Its not that its cheap and it mean of lesser quality, its not. Its just more affordable and very convenient for us. I'm loving my store more now that there is coupons for walmart. Now tell me, who is their right mind wouldn't want any coupons? With the recession still hot on our heels we need all the help we can get. All I can say is I am a proud Walmart shopper.

Tuesday, August 2, 2011

The photo above was from our latest Summer adventure. We did the beach and we the adults didn't really have our hearts into it. Sand got into everything and the kids could not swim and be left alone due to the strong current and huge waves. As we were getting our stuff ready I told Ralph that water park is for us. On our way home we spied a Water park, I took note of the place and looked it up on my iPhone. Itwas times like those that I am so thankful for my iPhone.

Exactly a week from our beach adventure we head out to Jungle Jim's Water Park. We got there at around 10:30 in the morning.. It wasn't as crowded as I thought it would be and the park itself wasn't as big. Before we went in we just had to pose for a picture perfect shot with my angels. As for our experience in the water park that will be on my next post. It will be my review on Jungle Jim's Water Park...

Monday, August 1, 2011

I want to go on a vacation, a place where I can just relax with a beautiful panoramic view. My last vacation was last year when I went to the Philippines with my MIL and daughter. How I wish we could have stayed longer. Even though it was just a short visit we got to spend time with the people who are so very dear to me. My daughter got to meet her maternal Grandmother and she also got to meet her maternal great grandparents. Both my husband and I deserve to go on a big vacation with maybe just the two of us? When you have kids its kind of hard sometimes, you want to get away from them for a bit but you don't want to be far from them as well,lol.

If someone was to ask you where you want to have your ultimate vacation where would you say you want to go? As for me one of my top 5 ultimate vacation spot would be Hawaii. You wouldn't want to go to Hawaii? A place surrounded by beautiful island, white sand beaches and crystal clear waters. If we ever win the lottery I would not mind owning a property in Hawaii. I am sure there are Hawaii houses for a family of 5. I can dream can't I? It's always free to dream. For those who are looking for houses in Hawaii check out the link. Who knows you might find your dream house, a house where you can escape and relax.

Here I am again with my two adorable princesses. We don't usually get a chance to have a picture with the three of us. Kayla is not really interested to be in the pictures. As you may have noticed I have a lot of picture with my youngest but not much with my oldest. She is getting older where she doesn't want to be bothered, lol. We just got out of the pool for a night swimmng, it was like getting into a warm bath. The water was literally like bath water. It was so warm and soothing to the body. When we got and drying on the deck, I got Kayla to sit on my lap. This was my chance to I immediately called the lil one over to take a a picture with the 3 of us. My kids are so beautiful, yes I can say that because I am their mom,lol.

Thursday, July 28, 2011

Just this month we finally got a recycling bin delivered. Yes, we are recycling in our house. We should have started recycling that week we decided to clean up the basement. Our basement was filled not just with junk but a big load of box. Some of the boxes from when Ralph moved in the house but most of the box were accumulated from 4 years of living. When we cleaned the basement we had help from Ralph nephew. Ralph had so much tools in the basement but could not find one measly box cutters. We had to made do with using a knife. After all the boxes were collapsed and ready for garbage day It was when I found a box cutter in one of the drawers,lol. At least we got all that crap hauled away and we are earnestly trying to keep things organized. The downside to recycling is that recycle bins don't get picked up regularly but only twice a month. Its a start...

Wednesday, July 27, 2011

I miss going to the mall. Malling is one of the few things that I consider my alone time even if I'm not really alone. Its been 2 weeks since I have been to the mall. By no means am I what you consider shopaholic. I am more of the window shopper, browsing through racks and racks of clothing and just admiring things. The last time I was at the mall a lot of small stores or boutiques had a lot of urban clothing on display. Most young generations a fearless when it comes to fashion sense. They wear what they want to wear and still look fashionable. Growing up I always wanted to join in the band wagon on what was in fashion but we couldn't afford it. Not being able to afford clothes that were in fashion didn't stop me from looking presentable. Brands don't matter to me, I wear what feels good and look good on me. I am very curios to see what my girls fashion sense are going to be like in the coming years. I can already see a fearless fashionista in my youngest daughter. But we shall see, the oldest will be hitting puberty in less than 5 years. Will things change drastically? Only time will tell.

Monday, July 25, 2011

With the heat wave covering the country, you find most people near water or do water activities. Although there are still people who prefer to stay indoors to cool off. As for my us, my kids enjoy staying outdoors. That means playing in the backyard, on the swing set, sand box or swimming in our swimming pool. Most of the time the kids are just content swimming in our pool. When it gets to hot though, they will be the ones to actually ask me that they would rather stay inside.

Last Tuesday, we finally went to the beach. The last time we went to the beach was almost 4 years ago. I was actually 7 months pregnant with Kaitlyn and Kayla was 4. The kiddos were pretty excited, Kaitlyn was understandably more excited as this would be here first time to go to the beach. To make the story short, our beach outing was fun but Ralph and I are definitely not beach people. Since there are no cottages where you can put all your stuff and rest like in my country. You have to make do and put blankets and towels on the sand. And sand gets into everything and anything. As for the beach water, you can't let you if you have a younger child. It would knocked around by the wave and carried by the current. I was not used to it. Back home our waters are nothing like that. The kids can swim in the shallow end and not worry about getting knocked over by the strong wave. As soon as we packed up I blurted out " It's going to be Water Parks until they are older for the beach". Ralph agrees with me as he is also not a beach person. Hey, I am not saying I don't the beach period but I'm just not used to the beaches here in America.. If the wave and the current was not that strong I would have loved it. But when you have kids, you tend to gravitate to a place where you don't have to hold their hands in order for them to have a good time. To sum it all up it wasn't bad but it wasn't great either. The important thing is that we had our little family time of bonding..

Sunday, July 24, 2011

Some people (usually from the older generation) say that we have too much choice. Just take going to the grocery store for instance. The other day I went to the produce section, and counted over 18 varieties of apples. It seems like we used to have just red or green (on a good day!) I then went to the cereal aisle, and I guess I’ve never really realized the ridiculousness of our plethora of choices. There is literally an entire AISLE devoted to cereal! I can’t figure out if all of this choice is a good thing or a bad thing. I’ve gotten so used to all of my choices- that I don’t know what I would do without them. I love being able to scroll through my hundreds of channels from my satellite (http://www.TVbydirect.com) . I love being able to sit down on my couch, decide what cereal I want for breakfast out of around 100 choices, and then sit down to any one of 5-6 news/morning shows. Do you think that all of this choice is a good thing or a bad thing? Are we living in excess, or are we merely utilizing and enjoying choices that are in front of us?

Thursday, July 21, 2011

July is not only my birth month, I share it with my sister as well. We get to have the same age for 10 days,lol. Does that mean we will be equal until she hits her birthday and is officially older than me again? We always use to joke with each other that there is no big and lil sister after my birthday. My sister's birthday is on July 24. My sister and I could have had the same birthday had my mother not elected induction. But since she wanted to be present for my sister's 1st birthday she had an induction and picked July 14. Why July 14? It's my fathers brothers birthday. As It turned out I had other ideas and refuse to share the same birthday with any of our relative, I was born on July 15,lol. I don't want to drag this on so here it goes :

To my one and only sister Mitzi, A Happy Happy Birthday to you. I may not say I love you enough but you are a big part of my heart and my life. You are an amazing sister, daughter and I know that you will be a wonderful mom to Alyssa. I am so proud of your achievement and I love you.

Saturday, July 16, 2011

With so many birthday coming and going I can't keep track. Thank God, I know the birthdays of very important people in my life. But when it comes to my friends birthdays I need help. I have already missed a couple of birthdays from some close friends of mine. If it wasn't for facebook I would forget most of my friends birthdays, lol. It's not that I ignore it completely but I forget. The next big birthday will be Kayla's. And a couple of months after that will be my BIL and Ralph and Kaitlyn's birthday. My BIL Larry cooked for me and it was one of the best birthday present from my BIL. He made the best meat loaf I have ever tasted. Birthdays is not about the party, the expensive presents you receive but rather it is about the thought behind every action. I am always thankful for every gift I receive no matter how little or big they are. Someone I know will be celebrating her birthday soon and I think it would be a great idea to send her a gift basket.With her sweet tooth I know giving her a gift basket will be appreciated. If you have someone special about to celebrate their birthday send gift baskets now and hear the joy in their voice when they receive it. After all, "its better to give than to receive".

Friday, July 15, 2011

It was fun having company here at the house. Mahlou's visit was so much fun and we talked and giggled alot. We really didn't get to go around but we did have a great time at the Mall. It also gave us a chance to hang out and just talk about the changes in our lives. I got to show her around our house which took me forever to get half way decent, lol. I showed her the basement and told her that it was going to be our next big project to do. My vision for our basement is to make it into an entertainment space where we can relax and the kids can play. Since we want to create a nice entertainment space where we can watch movies with the kids and our guest we will have to look at different flat screen lcd tvs. Knowing my husband, he will want a big flat screen. I can't wait until we start that project, its either going to be fun or a pain in the neck. Before I end this post, I just want to thank Mahlou for her gifts and taking time out of her busy schedule to come visit me. Next time it will be my turn to drop her a visit in NY.

This is the first time that we really didn't do anything for my birthday. Last year I had a big birthday celebration in the Philippines. With the loss of my grandpa I just wanted to have a regular day. Ralph went out and got me white roses, card and a cake for my birthday. He really didn't have to but he said its not a birthday without the cake. My BIL Larry came down yesterday so he decided to make us dinner, his meatloaf. It was great and probably the best meatloaf I have ever tasted. I can't wait until I have the left overs tomorrow for my lunch, lol. I just want to thank family and every body who gave a few minutes of their time to greet me a happy birthday.. Thank you, I didn't know turning 21 (12 yrs ago ) was going to be this fun, hehehehehehhe

Tuesday, July 12, 2011

The past few days have been really rough for me. I can honestly say that It really hasn't sink in yet that my Grandfather passed away. This is the first time that I have really lost someone close to me. I cannot fathom the amount of grief my grandmother is experiencing right this minute. Everyday must seem like an eternity for her without her soul mate, husband and best friend of 61 yrs. My heart aches that I cannot go home and attend my grandfathers funeral in a couple of days. I will keep on missing him, his memories will be kept alive so stories will be passed on for more generations to come.

On the other hand, Ralph is going back to work on Friday. He has been resting a lot in preparation for a rough 12 hour shift. One thing that is bothering Ralph is the thought of not fitting his police uniform. A few days before he got cleared to go back to work he said he was going to take diet pills if he won't fit his uniform. But I encouraged him instead to just lessen his portion and stop drinking soda. He seems to be doing good for the meantime but the real test will be the day he puts on his uniform. I am crossing my fingers and toes that it will still fit him. If worse comes to worse maybe this will be his wake up call to stop drinking soda and indulging on midnight cooking snacks.

Sunday, July 10, 2011

This post is dedicated to my late Grandfather ILDEFONSO O. MAGALASANG.

I thought Tuesday was just going to be any ordinary day, wrong! After hosting the 4th of July BBQ we had a very lazy day. Woke up really really late, had lunch, in the pool and hanging out with the hubby. Little did I know that my world was going to turned upside down. It was after 8 p.m. that I got two calls my aunt and cousin in Chicago. My aunt left a message so I listen to that first. I was shaking when I heard the voice mail. I was afraid that something had happened to my mom or my grandpa. I hurriedly called my aunt while I was in the kitchen. She answered with such a sad voice. I knew right then that I was bad.

She started crying and finally uttered the most devastating news I had to hear "Lod, your " lolo" passed away this morning"(Lolo is what we call our grandpa in my country) I couldn't say anything. I just sobbed my heart out on the phone crying with my aunt. I just kept on crying and crying. This is the first time ever I have experience this kind of loss. It was gut wrenching and so deep that you wonder if it will ever heal. I cried for my grandpa, for my grandma, I cried for everybody's loss. But most of all I cried because I was not able to say goodbye. No one had a chance to say goodbye to him. My heart goes out to my grandma who was not able to say she loved him one last time. They were each others best friend and lovers for 61 long years.

To my Grandpa "lolo" Thank you so much for all that you have done, your sacrifices, and lessons will forever be etched in our hearts. I want to say so much but my heart is just so broken. I miss you so much....

Until we see each other again "lolo", I will be forever proud to have been your granddaughter. We love you and will live for your memories and celebrate your life...

Sunday, July 3, 2011

Ever since yesterday I have been a flutter getting the house in order. We are hosting this year's 4th of July BBQ. Its just going to be family with the exception of my BIL bringing a lady friend as his date. At least I have taken care of the kitchen, family room, and the playroom is half way decent. What I needed was tea candles to put under my oil warmer. I had forgotten to buy them at the store while we were out. I knew my MIL had some stashed in the basement so I went to hunt them down. I looked everywhere and came across some of the Baby Invitations I had 4 years ago. That brought a lump in my throat. I so want another baby so much but things are not going the way we planned. Anyways, I am not going to bore you with my sob story for now. As for the tea candle I could not find it, we must have thrown it out by accident back when we were cleaning up the basement. I didn't give up though, I went looking upstairs in all the drawers and finally found one, lol. I guess it will have to do for tomorrow. We will be spending most of our time outside on the deck or in the pool tomorrow. Its going to be a perfect day to have a BBQ and dip in the pool when it gets to hot..

Tuesday, June 28, 2011

What do you do when you get bored feeling burned out? As a stay at home mom I do get burned out. I rarely do or buy anything for myself. Its all about family, not that I mind but sometimes I need time for myself and just relax. My one form of relaxation and charging my battery is going to the Mall. Not to go shopping mind you but to window shop and go people watching. Most of the time I go home with nothing or with something less than $20. My mantra when going to the Mall is not to spend on one single Item over $25. Even with a very tight budget or no budget at all I do have fun specially now that I have a window shopping buddy, my youngest daughter. She loves going to the mall and looking at different things be it from shoes, bags to clothes. She even loves to try things on and will give very honest opinion if I look good or not. She has a knack for fashion and loves looking at fashion accessories. At one store she was so busy trying on a couple of hats, stackable rings, necklaces and stacks and stacks of bangle bracelets. She would even ask me to take a picture of her while she tries on some stuff. Even though she tries on those things she knows that we won't be buying any of it. She knows that we are only looking and trying them on. Like most kids she does ask from time to time if we could buy certain items and I would always tell her that we didn't have the money for it. I am proud to say that she doesn't have a hissy fit when she doesn't get what she wants in the mall. She understand and would say " mama when you have money will you buy it for me?". It breaks my heart when she says that but I have to teach my daughter that she can't have anything she wants. Sure, I can very well afford to buy a lot of things but I choose not to. Still, we both have a grand old time just browsing around and at the end of the day, with or without purchase we end up enjoying each others company more.

Monday, June 27, 2011

Last June 22, 2011 in Cebu my sister received her certificate in Advance Culinary Arts. Ever since my sister has had a love affair with food. Aside from my grandma, she is the second best cook in our family. I know how to cook mind you but my cooking is mediocre compared to my sister. She is one hell of a cook! Last year she started going to school to learn more about cooking. I knew she was going to make it and excel for this was something she really love and enjoy doing. Aside from receiving her certificate she also got two awards. The Service Recognition Award and The Student Leadership Award.

I am so proud of my sister for her great achievement. Pay attention culinary world for my sister is about to rock your world, lol. I really didn't get a chance to really express my happiness on her graduation so here goes.

Chay,

Manang, I am so proud of you. The past months have not been really great but you did not let that stop you from smiling and persevering and holding on. How I wish I was there to bear witness as you received your certificate. I am so proud of you manang! I am so sorry if it seems that I am not there for you. I love you with all my heart. I know you will make it big and you will succeed. You are not only a great daughter, sister, friend but you are also a wonderful mom to Alyssa. I love you so much manang!I will make it up to you one of this days..

Thursday, June 23, 2011

Last June 21, 2011 at Keansburg High School my family and I were witness to the end of Kristen's high school education and the beginning of a new higher learning. Kristen is the oldest child of Ralph's older brother Larry. See the guy with the graduate? That's my BIL Larry, he can be a pain in the butt but he is really a nice guy and a good dad. We made it a point to go to New Jersey so we could celebrate with her and show her how proud we are of her achievement. Watching her graduate brought back memories of my high school graduation. I just want to say that Ralph and I are so proud of you Kristen! Keep reaching for the stars and don't ever give up because nothing is impossible if you try. We love you!

Sunday, June 19, 2011

Isn't it amazing how everything is so easy in this generation? Long gone were the days were we are tied up with only the phone in our houses. We didn't have any mobile phones back then to bring around with us to keep us connected with our loved ones. My MIL and I talk about how it used to be without the technology and the gadgets of today. She is one of those few mature people that keeps in touch with technology. One of the few things that fascinate her is the advancement of smart phones. It amazes her how such a small device can contain so much information and can do so much as well. When we got out new phones she also got a new one herself. It wasn't a smart phone as she wasn't ready for it yet. I saw that my MIL is slowly asking more and more questions about smart phones and I think she is ready for one. There are a lot of smart phones out in the market and htc virgin could be one of the few choices she can pick from.It will be interesting to see though her using a touch screen phone with her arthritic fingers. I don't think its going to stop her from staying on top of technology and connected to the world wide web.

Saturday, June 18, 2011

I just want to say that its easy to be a father, but it takes a real man to stand up to his responsibility and a Dad, Papa or Tatay. God has generously blessed my kids and I a man who truly loves his children. I grew up not really knowing my father. God didn't want my kids to grow up like that so he sent me a man a good man. A father who will gladly lift up his kids so they can reach the stars, lay down his life to protect them and most of all love them with all his heart. To all the wonderful Dad out there, Happy Father's Day again..

Tuesday, June 14, 2011

Last Memorial Day was hosted by my BIL. We drove early to their house and brought some of the food. Its always good to have family around since my immediate family is half way around the world. As usual family gatherings are always loud with so much to catch up on and good food to fill our bellies. It was that day that I found out something about my BIL that I never thought he would do. He got piercing on his body and I could not believe it. I had to see it to believe it and it was true. I have nothing against people with piercing as its their body. My BIL is full of surprises and so does my SIL. I even asked her if she has a garter belt of a costume I could borrow, lol. I wouldn't be surprise if she has a naughty nurse costume in their closet, I may even have to get one so I can be my husband's personal nurse. I didn't really got to see all the goodies she has as I found out about my BIL piercing before we left for the day. My MIL was so shocked when she found out and would not believe us until she sees it for herself. I guess she will get the shock of her life when he comes down by us for the day and go swimming,lol.

Sunday, June 12, 2011

A couple of days ago my husband and I decided to indulge in our favorite pastime together, watching a movie after the kids are all tucked in bed. Since we have been married we have only been to the movies once. I prefer watching movies at home or the computer. Its our alone time together. We usually watch action/adventure, comedy/romance and of course the horror movies. I get so scared so easily but I still love to watch horror movies as long as my husband is with me. He laughs when I pick a scary movies and teases me if I will be watching the whole movie or half of it with my hands over my eyes. When I get scared I cover my eye with one hand and the other will be holding his. As soon as a scary part comes on I would cover my eyes and tell him to let me know as soon as its over, lol.. He cracks up every time I scream when something just happens on screen without any warning.

The movie we watched that night was The Rite, with Sir Anthony Hopkins. It was about exorcism and a true story to boot. I have always been fascinated and intrigued about religious horror movies. I still remember the Exorcist and until now think that its one of the greatest horror movie classic of all time. Anthony Hopkins is such a versatile actor who can pull you into the web of the story with the way he commands attention on screen. It was a good movie and I only screamed once, lol. Ralph got startled when I screamed coz I was holding his hands when something was happening on screen, lol... I love movie night with my husband, its our own time to ourselves.

Monday, June 6, 2011

Oh snap it cracked! That is a picture of our kitchen counter. I don't know how it happened and when it happened but its not good. Our kitchen counter is still new. I only noticed the crack when I was using the crock pot. Maybe it cracked when the crock pot was placed not to gently on the counter? Nobody seems to know. It seems like I was the only one who noticed the crack. Of course as soon as I saw it I had to tell my husband so he could call the company we bought it from. First he has to find out the warranty of the kitchen counter. Hopefully something can be done. As for now you can't even tell where the crack is, but I know and it will bother me until it is fixed or replaced.

Wednesday, June 1, 2011

Last May15, 2011 I got to see my cousin again. The last time we saw each other was 3 years ago on Thanksgiving day. I missed her so much and its a blessing that we keep in touch via phone. I was so thrilled when she told me she was going to be in Delaware to get her certification for Zumba. She wanted to see me even for a couple of hours. When I found out she was coming I made her Adobao and cooked her some dried fish (dangit). She was getting her certification at the Boys and Girls Club which was only 15 min away from the house. I was so excited to see her that I told her that we were picking her up. She didn't recognize me right away when she came out, lol. We talked non-stop when she in got in the car until we got home. She doesn't have a lot of filipino friends in NY so she doesn't get to enjoy Filipino food that much. We had a blast talking and eating at the same time. Even though she only got to stay for a couple of hours we had fun. Before she got picked up by her friends, I got a chance to give her the rest of the Filipino dish I made. I made her promise to come back in the summer for at least a couple of days so she can hang out with us and just relax. I'm glad I got to see and talk to her, I missed her.. Thanks again Manang Sigred for dropping by..

Sunday, May 29, 2011

Being a stay at home mom and earn online is a blessing. I thank the day that my friend encouraged me to join blogging. It wasn't as hard and difficult as I thought it was specially when you have friends who are willing to help you along the way. I have read a lot of interesting articles written by people from all over the world. Gave me the chance to get a glimpse of how they are living and coping with day to day activities. Made lots of new friends all over. One of the downside to blogging is when you get directed to sites that are malicious with spyware and malware programs and viruses that wreak havoc on my computer. It seemed like every year we were buying a new computer due to viruses infecting the hard drive. I didn't know then that something like PC Tools could help with what I was having trouble with. We just got a new touch smart computer and I will be damned first before I let any virus get into our system. We have anti-virus installed but I would rather look into more options to see a better way of protecting our new computer. I am keeping a close watch on our new computer and if I notice that our anti-virus is not working up to par I will not hesitate to get help and download any antivirus software on PC Tools.

Summer is announcing its presence blazing hot! I have been waiting for many months for a very hot weather. Being born in a tropical country my body is used to the warm and I don't think I will ever get used to the winter months here. Still I don't want to waste any more time being cooped up in the house. With the warm weather I get to enjoy wearing sleeveless tops, shirts, summer dresses, skirts and short. I love wearing shorts but I have noticed that my varicose veins have gotten more visible and have more spider veins on my things and legs. Wearing compression hosiery is suppose to help minimize that. I have never worn one since I always thought they looked ugly and it made me feel old. Well, that was before. Today, compression hosiery can come in any color and design you want. I wouldn't mind buying one, hopefully wearing it will help with circulation on my thighs and legs.

Saturday, May 28, 2011

A follow up on the 3 little birdies we found in a bush in our backyard. Ever since we discovered the nest both Ralph and I have been keeping tabs on the nest and the little birdies in it. I could see the birds from the kitchen sink. When I am washing something I see either the mama bird or the daddy bird standing over the nest. I could see the baby birds mouth open wide to eat the worm that the papa/mama bird caught. In just a few days the 3 little hairless birds we saw are bigger and they have more feathers in them. When I took this picture I knew it wasn't going to be long before each birdie fly off the nest. And 2 days after I took this photo we saw the last of the 3 birdies fly off the nest. Its the way of life and what a wonderful way it is.

Friday, May 27, 2011

Yesterday MIL, Kaitlyn and I went to NJ. We were going to be sleeping overnight and I packed all the stuff that we needed like pillows, sheets and blankets just in case. The purpose of the overnight visit is to help Ralph's niece Kristen get ready for her Prom which is happening as I am writing this post. Before we left the house I made sure I packed all my make-up in case she wanted help with her make-up. She wanted us to come down so I could do her hair. It's such a big honor that she wanted me to do her hair for a big even such as her prom. A week before her prom I made sure to tell Kristen to take care of any breakouts she may have. I remembered telling about Accutane and accutane side effects to see if this was something she wanted to take. Like most young girls, she wants to look perfect on her big night. I don't know if she ever looked into it but I was relieved to see that she didn't have any breakouts when we saw her yesterday. We may have had a little trouble executing the hairstyle I wanted but we got it done,lol. I got to help her with make-up and she looked breathtaking when she had her dress on and ready to go. We took a lot of pictures. I was just proud and honored that she asked my help with her hair and I even got to do her makeup. It made it all worthwhile when she thanked me...

Thursday, May 26, 2011

Eating healthy and exercising is not as easy as one may think. It takes dedication, motivation and complete desire for it to really work. I stare at amazement at those men/women who live a very healthy lifestyle. I know one person who is very fit and healthy for her age. I specially envy women who are mothers but look amazing, with toned and healthy bodies. My MIL and husband was in NJ a couple of weeks ago and was surprise to see how much Ralph's niece had lost weight. She had started eating healthy and exercising regularly. As her brother, he is like a health freak. He may only be 16 but he has the body of an 18 year old guy who works out regularly. Ralph brother used to be a health freak and took the best creatine supplements out in the market. But due to stress and personal problems he has kind of fell of the wagon and gain a little bit of weight. As for me, I think that the only problem my husband really needs to work on is his stomach or gut. I don't know why he has such a big gut when he doesn't drink. I guess its all the soda he drinks, hheheheheh.. Will he loose weight if he stops drinking soda for at least a month? Now that is something worth trying out.

Tuesday, May 24, 2011

Ralph found something in one of the bushes outside in our backyard. He was doing some yard work when he noticed out dog Sunny getting excited and going into the bush just outside our kitchen window. He was trimming the bush on the other side of the house and didn't think much about it. It wasn't until he to inspect the shrub that is just outside our kitchen that he saw it. A perfectly made nest with 3 little baby birds in it. Ralph got excited and called to me right away. I could not believe how perfectly shaped and strong the nest was. How can something so small without any hands or fingers do something so intricate and sturdy at the same time. Sunny must have seen the mama bird going in and out of the bushes and tried to catch it. We fell in-love with the baby birds and we have kept tabs on them. Making sure that Sunny doesn't keep going near the bush and to see if the mama bird does come back. Of course when the mama bird was not in the next with her babies, we saw her perching on the tree branch near the house keeping watch on her babies. It made me realize that even a bird with no hands or fingers can do something like this how much more with us humans. With 10 fingers and two hands. It just shows that nothing is impossible and it can be done. I have updates on the baby chick and ill tell you more about it on my next time...

Thursday, May 19, 2011

In less than 2 weeks my husband will be going back to work. He has been out from work since April. My husband has surgery done to his neck, he had to fully recover first before going back to work. When he does go back to work, he will be doing light duty.

Ralph had been very worried about getting surgery. He didn't want any surgery if the doctor was going to retire him. When he got assurance that he can go back to work full time after he is fully recovered he breathed a big sigh of relief. In the weeks that he was off work I asked him if he has SSDI ( Social Security Disability Insurance ). He assured me that he has everything taken cared of. As far as his concerned he won't be needing any disability insurance as of yet. With his time off from work he has been spending a lot of time with the kids and of course me. He wants to spend more time with us but he is also looking forward to going back to work. Maybe I smothered him to much, lol

A couple of months ago I went gaga over a certain cake. We were at my BIL's house in Bear for my Biometrics for the USCIS. I got hungry and raided their kitchen for something to eat. My eyes feel on a rectangular piece of container with a few slices of what appears to be cake. I asked if I could have a piece. As soon as that piece of cake hit my tongue I was in food heaven. I found out that day that my favorite cake is Angel Food Cake. I cannot get over how fluffy, sweet and soft it comes. Before we left I begged my MIL to take me to Walmart so I could get the cake. One thing about me is when I want something specially food, I got and get it. I will keep eating the same food until desire for the taste is quenched. I bought two round cakes and I finished the whole round one in a day. My husband knows about my love affair with food and he knows that I am currently hooked on Angel, sweet, light, fluffy and delicious.

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